CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION JERRY R. FAUST The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Transcript of an Interview Conducted by Andrea R. Maestrejuan at Tufts University Boston, Massachusetts on 18, 19, and 20 February 1997 From the Original Collection of the University of California, Los Angeles ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This oral history is part of a series supported by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts based on the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. This collection is an important resource for the history of biomedicine, recording the life and careers of young, distinguished biomedical scientists and of Pew Biomedical Scholar Advisory Committee members. This oral history was completed under the auspices of the Oral History Project, University of California, Los Angeles (Copyright © 1998, The Regents of the University of California) and is made possible through the generosity of From the original collection at the Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library, UCLA. The following oral history, originally processed at the UCLA Center for Oral History Research, has been reformatted by the Chemical Heritage Foundation. The process involved reformatting the front matter, adding a new abstract, replacing the table of contents, and replacing the index. The paragraph spacing and font of the body of the transcript were altered to conform to the standards of the Oral History Program at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. The text of the oral history remains unaltered; any inadvertent spelling or factual errors in the original manuscript have not been modified. The reformatted version and digital copies of the interview recordings are housed at the Othmer Library, Chemical Heritage Foundation. The original version and research materials remain at the Darling Library, University of California, Los Angeles and at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. REFORMATTING: Holly Polish, Program Intern, Oral History, Chemical Heritage Foundation. B.A. History, American University. David J. Caruso, Program Manager, Oral History, Chemical Heritage Foundation. B.A., History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, Johns Hopkins University; PhD., Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University. This interview has been designated as Free Access. One may view, quote from, cite, or reproduce the oral history with the permission of CHF. Please note: Users citing this interview for purposes of publication are obliged under the terms of the Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program to credit CHF using the format below: Jerry R. Faust, interview by Andrea R. Maestrejuan at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, 18-20 February 1997 (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript # 0558). Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program 315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society. JERRY R. FAUST 1948 Born in Sterret, Texas, on 10 March Education 1971 B.S., Stephen F. Austin State University 1974 M.A., University of Texas at Arlington 1991 Ph.D., Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University Professional Experience Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 1987-1991 Doctoral Student Researcher, Department of Physiology 1991-present Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology 1971-1972 Associated Dallas Laboratories, Dallas, Texas Analytical Chemist 1972-1974 University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas Research Assistant University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 1974-1977 Research Technician, Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics 1977-1985 Research Associate 1985-1987 E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware Principal Investigator, Cardiovascular Unit Honors 1992-1994 Harcourt General Charitable Foundation New Investigator Award 1992-1996 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences 1995-2000 American Heart Association Established Investigator Award Selected Publications Brown, M.S. et al., 1975. Role of the low density lipoproteinreceptor in regulating the free and esterified cholesterol content of human fibroblasts. Journal of Clinical Investigation 55:783- 93. Faust, J.R. et al., 1977. Receptor-mediated uptake of low density lipoprotein and utilization of its cholesterol for steroid synthesis in cultured mouse adrenal cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 252:4861-71. Faust, J.R. et al., 1980. Synthesis of 2-isopentenyl tRNA from mevalonate in cultured human fibroblasts. Journal of Biological Chemistry 255:6546-48. Faust, J.R. et al., 1982. Regulation of synthesis and degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase by low density lipoprotein and 25-hydroxycholesterol in UT-1 cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 79:5205-9. Faust, J.R. and M. Krieger, 1987. Expression of specific high capacity mevalonate transport in a Chinese hamster ovary cell variant. Journal of Biological Chemistry 262:1996-2004. Liscum, L. and J.R. Faust, 1987. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) -mediated suppression of cholesterol synthesis and LDL uptake is defective in Niemann-Pick type C fibro-blasts. Journal of Biological Chemistry 262:17002-8. Liscum, L. and J.R. Faust, 1989. The intracellular transport of low density lipoprotein-derived cholesterol is inhibited in Chinese hamster ovary cells cultured with 3-β- [2- (diethylamino)ethoxy]androst-5-en-17-one. Journal of Biological Chemistry 264:11796-806. Faust, J.R. and J.F. Dice, 1991. Evidence for isopentenyladenine modification on a cell cycle- regulated protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry 266:9961-70. Faust, J.R. et al., 1994. Two related proteolipids and dolichol-linked oligosaccharides accumulate in motor neuron degeneration mice (mnd/mnd), a model for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. Journal of Biological Chemistry 269:10150-55. ABSTRACT Jerry R. Faust began his childhood on his father’s farm in rural Texas. When his parents divorced he moved with his mother, a nurse, and his brother to Dallas, Texas, where he attended junior high school and high school. When he was in eighth grade he took an advanced biology class in which the newly-discovered ATP was discussed at length, but in high school he “left biology” for chemistry. He loved chemistry, a field that was really taking off at the time. A high school chemistry teacher proved an important role model, and an influential school trip to a research laboratory confirmed his desire to become a scientist. Faust’s chemistry teacher was also the basketball coach, and Faust played well enough to be offered a basketball scholarship to Stephen F. Austin State University. As he says, he went to college to play basketball, not to learn, so he rejected an offer from Rice University, as studying might have gotten in the way of basketball. At Austin State he declared a major in chemistry and minored in biology, soon developing an interest in biochemistry. He considered working in biochemistry to be a way to make a contribution to society. After graduation Faust took a position as a chemist. He spent a boring year testing materials before deciding to go to graduate school. He took a biochemistry course taught by Edward Bellion, and entered his lab at University of Texas at Arlington. There he continued to develop his interest in biochemistry. He felt he had certain advantages coming to biochemistry as a chemist rather than a biologist. After finishing a master’s degree, Faust accepted a position as research associate in the Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Faust describes Brown's and Goldstein's backgrounds; his role in the lab's work on cholesterol metabolism; and learning opportunities in the lab. He also explains their Nobel Prize for research into LDL. After being there for eleven years he went to E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company as a principal investigator in the cardiology unit. Faust describes the structure and research resources of the Du Pont Experimental Station and his projects there. He explains his professional satisfaction in designing and implementing research per se, irrespective of clinical applications. Faust's preference for following tangents rather than pursuing a strictly linear line of research led him next to the decision to pursue a PhD in the physiology department at Tufts University, where he entered James Fred Dice’s lab. Being a student again was different and strange. Here he discusses how the need to meet funding requirements affects the direction of research; the value of funding sources that allow for creative research; and the advantages of increasing cooperation between labs. He continues with a discussion of Dice as a mentor; his own mentoring and managing style; influence on his research of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences award; grant writing; and competition with Peter Pentchev’s lab over work on cholesterol transport in Niemann-Pick